WiFi Recommendations?

Our household broadband connection went kaboink. Am "negotiating" with provider (IMHO, it was their fault and responsibilty.) We'll get it resolved.

In the meantime, I'm using (remember, this one kids?) a dialup. A couple neighbors gave me access to their WiFis. Old board on desktop didn't cut it. Slapped in a Cisco/Linksys AE1000. Given where this desktop is (walls, trees and distance), I can usually get a decent connect. Lot's of ground to cover for a connection "next door" here. I'm impressed it works as well as it does.

Now, to the real question. Since we're upgrading, what are thoughts on an "11n" router? I'm leaning towards a Cisco/Linksys E1000. Advice?

Thnx

Apple Airport Extreme

For wireless client access:

Mac with AirPort or AirPort Extreme wireless capability
PC with 802.11a/b/g/n

C'mon JEK. I'm locked into PC/Windoze. You know that.

BTW, Spent some time with some experienced architects and designers "up north" the other week. They crabbed about Airport and had a list of complaints (like doing the distance from house to studio. I can do better, on distance, with this little puppy.)

Check out D-Link's DIR-825 or DIR-855. Does pretty much everything wi-fi units do, including dual band 2.4 and 5 Ghz support. 855 has nice OLED display to show the network activity. 825 costs about the same as Apple's Airport Express, 855 about the same as Apple's Airport Extreme.

Linksys E1000 is ok for an entry-level thing (don't be fooled by the cisco logo ;-). E2000 is better due the gigabit interfaces, after all 802.11n can be faster than the 10/100 ethernet. E3000 is comparable to the above D-link DIR-825.

The best thing about the Apple wifi boxes is that the management tool works nicely for a number of units in the house, and Apple does provide software updates instead of pushing out new models every year. Apple was one of the first to do 802.11n but their antennas don't really excel (funny coincidence with the iPhone 4 ) They're also pretty expensive compared to the competition and lack some features. We have some half a dozen airports around the house so it's nice to configure them through a single interface, not that one needs to do much after the installation.

For backup, you could look those units that have an USB port that supports mobile broadband USB dongles. If the primary internet access goes down, they'll open the mobile broadband. Works quite nicely with a pre-paid subscription.

PS. I'm cancelling my land line finally tomorrow, it hasn't been connected anywhere since last autumn.. We have couple of B&O phones around the house that I connected with an VoIP/POTS adapter to a free VoIP account. I don't know if it works though, I don't remember receiving any calls..

It works on both platforms.

System Requirements

For setup and administration:

Mac computer with Mac OS X v10.5.7 or later, CD drive, and Ethernet or wireless networking capability
PC with Windows XP (SP3) or Windows Vista (SP1) or later, CD drive, and Ethernet or wireless networking capability
For wireless client access:

Mac with AirPort or AirPort Extreme wireless capability
PC with 802.11a/b/g/n
For shared printing:

USB printer
Mac with Mac OS X v10.2.7 or later
PC with Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista; Bonjour for Windows included on AirPort Extreme CD
For shared hard drive:

Mac with Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later
PC with Windows XP (SP2) or Windows Vista; Bonjour for Windows included on AirPort Extreme CD

Thanks guys. So good info to mull over before I shop.